How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition

Forever change the way you listen to music with this outstanding course that explores the history, composition, and sublime accomplishments of Western concert music.

Overview

Course No. 700

This 48-lecture masterpiece transforms how you experience classical music by revealing:

• The language of music – forms, techniques, and terms that make you fluent
• Historical evolution – from ancient chants to 20th-century modernism
• Composers’ genius – Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Stravinsky and more
• Practical listening skills – recognize structures and meanings in any piece

What You’ll Discover:

✓ How music reflects cultural and historical contexts
✓ The building blocks of musical composition
✓ Why great works move us emotionally
✓ How to appreciate music at deeper levels

Video Lectures

Section 1: Foundations (Lectures 1-6)

01: Music as a Mirror (47 min)
Introduction to musical language and concepts

02: Ancient World & Early Church (45 min)
Music’s role in Greek/Roman cultures

03-04: Middle Ages & Renaissance (44 min / 46 min)
Plainchant to polyphony evolution

05: Renaissance Mass (45 min)
Sacred music structures

06: The Madrigal (45 min)
Secular vocal music development

Section 2: Baroque Era (Lectures 7-16)

07-08: Baroque Introduction (45 min / 48 min)
Emotional extravagance meets intellectual control

09: National Styles (46 min)
Italian vs. German approaches

10: Fugue Mastery (46 min)
Bach and Handel’s contrapuntal genius

11-12: Baroque Opera (45 min / 48 min)
From Florentine Camerata to popular entertainment

13-14: Sacred Music (44 min / 47 min)
Oratorios and Bach’s cantatas

15-16: Instrumental Forms (45 min / 46 min)
Passacaglia and concerto structures

Section 3: Classical Era (Lectures 17-29)

17-18: Classical Transition (45 min / 46 min)
Enlightenment’s impact on musical style

19-25: Classical Forms (43-49 min)
Theme/variations, minuet, rondo, sonata

26-27: Symphony & Concerto (43 min each)
Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven’s innovations

28-29: Opera Buffa (45 min / 44 min)
Mozart’s dramatic ensembles

Section 4: Romantic Era (Lectures 30-44)

30-32: Beethoven’s Revolution (44-46 min)
Symphony No. 5 analysis

33-36: Romantic Expansion (44-49 min)
Program music (Berlioz) and miniatures

37-40: Opera Masters (46-48 min)
Verdi’s drama vs. Wagner’s music dramas

41-44: Nationalism (44-46 min)
Tchaikovsky, Liszt, and Russian school

Section 5: Modernism (Lectures 45-48)

45-48: 20th Century Pioneers (44-46 min)
Debussy, Stravinsky, and Schönberg’s innovations